Motor-starter.



B. B..JACKSON.

MOTOR STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9. 1916.

1,289,788. Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

7\ or 2 N N u m O a 00 N 2 d \0 N .i-HQQ I? LL 1 931 N o a 59 .2 m N)ECU/ 6417707 Z- fac ffflfl, INVENTOR.

By M W J AfioRNEy B, BIJACKSON.

MOTOR STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9,1916.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

1,289,788. 3 SHEETS+SHEET 2.

N 1Q h sh VII/III 7 IA- Be jamin JQC/{jon/ INVENTOR' M W a ATTORNEY B.B. JACKSON.

MOTOR STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9. 1916 3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Q N Ln OQLQKQ s 5 CO I I) W W I W 1 E \I I I a E 03 jg jq fr; JZC j 0 l,INVENTOR.

BY @W A TTORNEY Patented Dec. 31, 1918.-

JUNIIEn STATES PATENT. orrio BENJAMIN BJJACKSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MOTOR-STARTER.

Y '0 alt whom it may concern; I 1

Be it known that IQBENJAMINB. 4JACK- son, citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of ,Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful; Improvements in Motor-Starters; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and'exact description of the invention,

such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to starters for such prime movers as requireauxiliary means for bringing them to the speed at which they becomeself-propelling, its general object being to provide a starter in whichthe energy will be stored by the prime mover itself and which willrequire no attention whatever after it is once adjusted in opera.- tivecondition. More particularly, my invention aims to provide an attachmentfor a non-self-starting prime mover such as an internal combustionengine or a single phase alternating current motor of the inductiontype) having energy storage means arranged to: produce a rotary torquein an element which may also be oppositely rotated by the prime moverfor replenishing the stored energy; to provide simple and automaticallycontrolled means for connecting the said torque-actuated elements forits said starting purpose when the prime mover is at rest, forautomatically releasing. element when'the prime mover is to be started,for disconnecting and stopping said element when the stored energy beenused for imparting rotation to the rotor of the prime mover, forthereafter oppositely connecting said element to the prime moverandthereby replenishing the stored energy, for disconnecting said elementwhen the desired amount of energy has been stored, and for returningsaid element to its starting position when the prime mover is beingstopped. Further objectsare to provide simple neans. for overcoming anyimperfect meshing of the teeth of the said torque-actuated element withthose of the gears associated therewith, to utilize both the torquestored in the said element and the torque of other rotatable parts forcontrolling the position of the said element, to provide simple meansfor a djusting' the forces required for moving the said element from oneto another of its said positions (that is to say, itsmotor-accelerating, recharging, motor-running and motor Specification ofLetters Patent. Put-3 111311 Dec, 31-, 1918 Application 'fileaivra 9,1916." Serial No, 96,329. i y

stopped or'neutral positions), and to provide simple means for utilizincentrifugal action as one of the forces for eflecting a transfer saidelement from its motor-runnin to its neutral position. A further objecto my invention is to provide simple means whereby the startingattachment may readily be useel for starting the prime mover in eitherdirection.

More particularly, my invention aims to provide mechanical means foraugmenting the starting torque. of an electric motor and for checkingthe flow of current to such a motor while the latter is beingaccelerated,

thereby enabling an inductionmotor to be I started with a relativelysmall current; to

provide electromagnetic means in circuit with the motor for releasingthe mechanical means when the motor is to be started, to utilizetheresistance of'the said electromagnetic means for checking the flow ofcurrent to the motor while the latter is being accelerated; also toprovide means for cutting this resistance out of the motor circuit whenthe starting has been eifected,, and means for automaticallyre-inserting this resistance when the motor comes to rest,

Further objects will appear from the following speecification and fromthe accompanying drawings which show myinvention as embodied in astarter for an electric mo- ,tor. In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of an electric motor equippedwith one embodi-.

ment of the starter of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section through two of the clutching membersassociated with the actuating pinion.

Fig; 4: is an enlarged longitudinal section through the pinion and partsadjacent thereto.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryelevation of the ratchet on the shaft of thepinion.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of portions of the mechanism showing theirpositions while the energy storing spring is being nd- Fig. 7 is asimilar view showing the parts during the acceleration of the motor bythe starter. I

Fig. 8 is a vertical section through Fig. 1 along the line 8-8.

' Fig. 9 is a central vertical section through and affords bearings fora secondar Fig. 10 is a partially diagrammatic perspective view of thestarter mechanism (with the spring and certain other parts removed)taken when the motor is slowing ing current motor, 1 mount upon asuitable portion of the motor, such as the oil reservoir of the motor 24in Fig. 1, a forked frame presenting upper and lower arms 10 and 41extending parallel to the shaft of the motor. The upper of these armscarries a depending electromagnet 1 and a bracket 36 extending belowthis magnet between the said arms. 1 Interposed between the bracket 36and the lower arm 411 is a frame 29 which is rotatable on pivot-s 28,the rotation being effected by means of a handle 27 fast upon the frame29 and normally interlocked with 'a latch 34 on the arm d1. I a Pivotedupon the frame 29 by means of horizontal pivots 20 is a rocker arm121-hav ing two projecting arms 33 and 'i'xwhich both overhang the shaftof the motor. The free end of the lower arm 33 is connected by a tensionspring 16 to a rack on'the frame 29, which rack permits of adjusting thespring by moving the adjacent end of the spring from one notch toanother. The upper arm 7 has a main portion concentric with the pivots20 and is equipped near its free end with successive stops, A, B and Carranged in steps and adapted to engage a pin 3 carried by the armature2 of the elec tromagnet, which armature is pivoted to the forked frame30 and continuously pressed downward by a spring 5. Int-erposed betweenthe frame 29 and the rocker arm 12 are two pivotally connected links'17and 21, the former of which is bifurcated shaft 37 carrying at each enda pinion 15 and a ratchet wheel 14, these pinions being so disposed thatone of. them will be adapted to mesh with the internal gear 32 on theshaft. of the motor at one side and that upon reversing the frame 29 theother pinion will be brought into mesh with the other side of this gear.Connected to the auxiliary shaft 37 is some torque-producing means, suchas the spiral spring 13, which spring is connected at its endsrespectively to the shaft 37 and to the pivotal connection between thelinks 17 and 21..

Assuming this spring 13 to be unwound, the tension in spring 16 willrock the arm 12 toward the left (Fig. 6), forcing the pinion 15 intomesh with a winding gear 31 fast upon the shaft of the motor 31. Thenupon rotating the motor shaft by hand in a counter-clockwise direction,this gear 31 will drive the pinion 15- and wind up the driving spring13, and owing to the links and their connections to the driving spring,the tension on the latter will set up forces F and G (Fig. 6) acting onthe system of parts rocking about the pivot 20, these being in additionto the continuously operative force E, force G being the tensionproduced in the link 21 by resisting the pull of the spring 13 asapplied at the juncture of the links 17 and 21. Forces E and F will bothtend to rock the arm 12 toward the left, thereby. holding the gear andpinion intermeshed, while force G will tend to swing the arm 12 to theright and to carry the pinion out of mesh with the gear. However, theseelements are so arranged that the torque produced about the axis 20 bythe force G is greater than the oppositely directed effect of the forceF. This difference increases as the tension in the winding spring isincreased, until force G over-balances the effect of the other twoforces and rocks-the arm 1..-to the right, thereby carrying the pinion15 out of mesh with the gear 31. When this occurs, the torque of thewinding spring would tend to spin the pinion 15 around, but the latteris promptly checked, by a'pawl 19 (Figs. 2 and 10) meshing with. ratchetwheel 11 which is also carried by the auxiliaryshaft 37. The torque uponthis auxiliary shaft being thus taken up by the pawl, force F becomesinoperative, hence force G overbalances the opposing tendency all themore and there fore insures a quick and positive movement of the arm 12toward the right or until stopped by the engagement of the armature pin.3 with-the stop C on the upper projecting arm 7.

When thus stopped, the pinion 15 is out of mesh with the gear 31 andlikewise out of mesh with an internal gear 32', which latter is carriedby the shaft of'the motor and in alinement with the gear 31. However,during the slowing down of the motor, the centrifugal trip on the disk11 will assume the position N 1), thereby raising the pivoted arm 4 andlifting the pin 3' clear of the stop C, thus allowing the rocker arm 12to iove until the pin 3 engages the stop B, in which neutral positionthe elements are left when themotor is stopped. Then upon supplyingcurrent to the line wires of Fig. 10, the electromagnet 1 raises itsarmature, releasing the rocking support 12 and allowing the force (.1(Fig. 6) to pull this rocker arm to the right until checked by theengagement of the pin 3 with the extreme stop it as in Fig. 7. Thisbrings the pinion15 into full mesh with the internal gear 32, while alsocausing the pawl end 415 to strike pin 26., thus moving both pawlsagainst the pressure of the springs 18 (Fig. 2) and releasing the pawlsfrom the ratchet wheels, so hat th pinion-.15 m y be fr ly rotated hythe spring-.13 and may actuate the. in-

ternal gear for bringing the motor up. to

, motorfor the reason that thewindings of the-electromagnet 1 are inseries with the motor windings. When the spring-actuated pinion isdriving the internal gear as. in Fig. 7 ,1 this driving creates a forceFwhich cooperates "with the force G- due to the pull of-the spring. Thesetwo forces together so far overbalance the opposing effect of thetension spring 16 (which effect E is reduced by the shortening'o-f the.effective, lever arm between the spring and the pivot. 20. as shown by acomparison of Figs. 6 and 7) that the, spring 13 can spend substantiallyits entire force in accelerating the motor. As the-motor gains in speed,forces. G and F (Fig. 7) decrease until overbalanced by the" force Ewhich then'moves the rocker arm 12 to the left, brin ing the pinion 15.into mesh with the rewirding gear and also moving a contact block 8into a position in which it bridges the magnet terminals. The magnetbeing thus short circuited. the full current is supplied to the motorwhich there- 'upon winds the spring until the force G (operating asbefore) moves the pinion to the entlrelv unmeshed or motor-running po-S1t 011. During both this rewindlng stage and the normal operation ofthe motor, the

trip 6 flies out to'a position parallel to the motor shaft, therebyclearing the armature arm 3.

When the motor is beingstopped and has s owed down to aspeed at whichthepinion .15 may be safelv brought into me h with the internal ear 32.the. centrifu al trip. tilts (as at. N in Fi 1) and ralses the armaturearm. thereby releasing the rocker arm 12 as before described andallowing the said .fast upon the shaft of the pinion, but with 'therespective pawls a half tooth apart,- so that when one pawl is at thepoint of dropping into mesh'the other is at least in half me h,- thusinsuring a certain and substantially instantaneous checking of thesecondary shaft at any point.

It will be obvious that by varying the resistance of the. magnetwindings, the. initial current flowing to the motor may be. reduced toany desired fraction of the current required, by the motor when innormal opera tion, or at least may be kept down to this normal amperage.Consequently, my starter will be advantageous. wherever it is, desirableto avoid objectionable fluctuations on the circuit. It will alsobenoticed that my starter-requires no special windingof the motor,and'that itcouldreadily be built, as

an assembled whole andiattached to motors.

of various styles of makes, thus. (for example) permitting alow-currentstarting for a squirrel-cage or other rugged type of motorwithout employing special windings, commutators, or the like. However,while I have shown and described the starting appliance of my inventionas applied to an induction motor, I do: not wish to be limited for itsapplication. to this particular prime mover. Neither do I wish to belimited to. the particular arrangement or form ofthe various elements asherein disclosed, it being evident that the same might be varied in manyrespects without departing from the spirit of myinvention. i

I claim as my invention: v 1. The, combination with a primary shaft. ofan external and an internal gear bot-h fast thereon, atorque-actuatedsecondary shaft, a

pair of pinions fast upon the secondary v9 shaft, and a carrier. for thesecondary shaft, the said carrier being movable about an. axisintersecting the axis ofthe primary shaft to interpose the said pinionsrespectively between the external and internal gear at opposite sides ofthe primar Y shaft.

2., Mechanism as per claim 2, in combination with means associated withthe carrier for moving the interposed pinion. into engagement with the,internal gear.

3. Mechanism as per claim 2, in.combina tion with means mounted on thecarrier and responsive to the torque of" the secondary shaftfor bodilymoving thev secondary shaft with respect to the main shaft.

4. The combination with a primary shaft, of a secondary shaft. extendingparallel to and bodily movable with respect to the primary shaft. a gearfast on the primary shaft, a pairof pinions fast on they secondaryshaft, an energy storing spring associated with the secondary shaft andarranged for storing energy upon the rotation of the latter in onedirection. means for shifting the position of the secondary shaft fromone sidev of the-primary shaft to the other and for thereby bringing one.or'the other of the said pinions into operative engagement with thegearv and means responsive to the tension of the spring for bodilymoving the secondary shaft to annul the said operative engage-- ment. vI

5. The. combination, with a shaft and a gear fast thereon, of a pinionadapted to me h w t the ge a supp rt or th pin ion arranged for movingthe pinion into or out of its said intermeshing with the gear, meanstending to move the support in one di rection; and a coiled springassociated with the pinion and soarrangeol as to be wound by therotation of the pinion in one direction, and connections whereby thetension of the spring during its Winding will move the support in adirection opposite to that first named and against the opposition'of thesaid means.

I 6. The combination with a shaft, of a gear fast thereon, a pinionadapted to mesh with the gear,a movable support for the pinion, meansfor moving the support in one direction, and common means for rotatingthe pinion and moving the support in the opposite direction, andlatching means for bolding the support man lntermediate position.

7. The combination wlth a shaft, of an eX- ternal and an internal gearboth fast there 7 on, a torque-actuated secondary shaft, a pinionfastupon the secondary shaft and adapted to mesh with either gear, meansresponsive to the torque actuating the secondary shaft, said meanstending to move the pinion with respect to the gears, and latching meansfor holding thev pinion vout of mesh with both gears.

8. In a starter for an electric motor, a gear on the shaft of thermotor,a pinion meshing with the gear, and movable out of mesh therewith, meansassociated with the pinion for rotating the same and for moving the sameinto or out of mesh with the gear, a magnet in the motor circuit, andmechanism controlled by the magnet for limiting the movement of thepinion by the said means.

9.. The combination with an electric motor, of a torque-actuatedsecondary shaft bodily movable with respect to the shaft of the motor,interengageableelements carried by the respective shafts; meanscontrolling the position of the secondary shaft, said means ineluding anelectromagnet independentof the magnetic circuit of themotor, and commonmeans, for bodily imoving the secondary shaft and for operativelydisconnecting the electromagnet. p

10. The combination with a shaft, of a gear fast thereon, atorque-actuated secondary shaft, a pair of pinions fast upon the latter,and means supporting the secondary shaft and arranged for bringing thesaid pinions respectively into mesh with oppo' site sides of said gear,and means for latching the secondary shaft against rotation when neitherpinion is in mesh with said gear.

11. The combination with a shaft, of a gear fast thereon, a pinionadapted to mesh 'with the gear, a movable support for the pinion. meansfor moving the support in one d1rect1on, and common means for rotatingthe p1n1on and movlng the support in the opposite direction, and meansfor affording three different limits to the movement of the support inthe last named direction.

12. The combination with a shaft, of a gear fast thereon, a pinionadapted to mesh with the gear, a pivoted support for the pinion, anadjustable spring arranged for rocking the support in one directionabout its pivot, and a spiral spring arranged for rotating the pinionand for rocking the sup port in the opposite direction. 7 p 13. Thecombination with a shaft, of a gear fast thereon, a pinion adapted tomesh with the gear, a movable support for the pinion, means for movingthe support in one direction, and common means for rotating the pinionand moving the support in the opposite direction, means for limiting themovement of the support in the first named direction, and spaced meansaffording a series of stops for limiting the movement of thesupport inthe last named direction.

14:. The combination with a rotor of an electric motor, of spring meansfor aiding theinitial acceleration of the rotor, a resistance in circuitwith the motor during its acceleration; and means interlocking with thespring means after the latter has operated, for short-circuiting theresistance.

15. In a motor starter, the combination with a main shaft and asecondary shaft, of interengageable elements carried by the respectiveshafts, a source of power for rotating the main shaft, a separate sourceof power for rotating the secondary shaft, means tending to move thesecondary shaft to bring the said elements into interengagement, and alatch for restraining the said means, said latch being released by thefirst named source of power.

16. A motorand starter combination as per claim 9, in combination withcentrifugal means controlling the means which control the position ofthe secondary shaft.

.17. A motor and starter combination as per claim 14., in combinationwith centrifugally controlled means for restoring the said short-circuitwhen the motor comes to rest.

.18. The combination with an electric motor, of mechanical means foraiding the initial acceleration of the rotor, means for reducing thevoltageof the current supplied to the motor during the saidacceleration,

and meansresponsive to the depletion of the stored energy for thereafterannulling said voltage reduction.

19. The combination with an electric motor, of spring means for aidingthe initial acceleration of therotor, a resistance in circuit with themotor during the said acceleration, and relatively interlocking meansresponsive to the depletion of stored energy for thereafterdisconnecting said spring means and short-circuiting said resistance.

1 netic structure of the motor in imparting speed to the rotor, a detentfor keeping the non-electric means from operating, and means forreleasing said detent, said last named means including an electro-magnethaving its winding in series with the motor so as to reduce the supplyof current to the motor.

In a starter for an electric motor, nonelectric means for aiding theelectromagnetic structure of the motor in imparting speed to the rotor,electromagnetic means controlling the operation of the non-electricmeans, mechanism for shortcircuiting the electromagnetic means when therotor attains a given speed, and means for automatically rupturing saidshortcircuit when the rotor is stopped, the electromagnetic means beingin series with a winding of the motor so as to reduce themotor-actuating current while the said means are not shortcircuited.

23. In a motor starter, a main shaft, a secondary shaft, interengageableelements carried respectively by the two shafts, a movable carrier forthe secondary shaft and the element carried thereby, and torqueeffectingmeans connected to the secondary shaft, said carrier being adapted tomove the interengageable elements through a cycle of relative positionsincluding a motor-starting, energy-storing and neutral positions; saidcarrier being so disposed as to be moved through its said cycle merelyby the action of the said torque-effecting means and by the reaction onthe carrier of the interengaged elements.

24. In a starter for a shaft, a secondary shaft, means for impartingrotation to the latter, interengageable elements carried by the twoshafts, a ratchet for latching the secondary shaft against rotating inone direction, and ratchet'releasing means actuated jointly by thesupply of energy for the first named shaft and by the saidrotation-imparting means.

BENJAMIN B. JACKSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

